Chapter 2: The Child in the Photograph

My knees gave way, and the lawyer caught my arm before I fell.

Inside the envelope was our marriage certificate—but across it, in red ink, were the words: “NOT LEGALLY VALID.”

Beneath it lay an older certificate bearing Irene’s name beside that of another man.

“This says she married someone else three years before me,” I whispered.

“Who was Thomas Mercer?”

The lawyer’s face tightened.

“Irene believed Thomas was d*ad when she married you.

Years later, she discovered he was still alive.”

“So she knew?” I cried.

“She knew our marriage was never legal and said nothing?”

Before he could answer, a small photograph slipped from the envelope.

Irene looked barely twenty, holding a baby I had never seen.

On the back, she had written: “Please forgive me.

He must never know who this child became.”

My hands began to shake.

“What child?

We had three children.

Who is this?”

The lawyer looked toward the driveway, where a black car had just stopped.

“I was told not to answer that question,” he said quietly.

“The person getting out of that car must tell you.”

Then the door opened—and I recognized the face immediately.